Every couple of weeks I am asked by the Personal Financial Editor for the Detroit News, Brian O'Connor, to add career tips to a story he has written about someone's career makeover. These tips are published in the paper and also appear on the Detroit News website. You can read the articles on my website, beingatwork.com. These were my tips for the article dated Monday, August 28, 2006. The story was titled, "Airline pilot also lands home sales." This is the story about a pilot for Northwest Airlines who saw the "writing on the wall" and made a career move into real estate.
My Tips
This is the real deal. Larry’s story is about waking up to the realities of an industry or business in decline and getting into action. So why do most of us wait until we are pushed because our job is gone? One thing that stops all of us is fear, fear of failing, fear of not being valued, fear of not being good enough, etc. etc.. To move forward, start by thinking of your fear as a helpmate and guide to show you what you need to do.
1. Acknowledge your fears – What worries you about your current situation and what do you fear for the future? Are these fears reasonable? Look at your past work experience to find the evidence. Either the fear is real, for example your skill set is not up-to-date for your profession, or it is not real in that you feel you cannot learn a new trade or start a new career even though you’ve done it before. Look at your fears as a combination of belief and imagination and test the validity.
2. Deal with the real issues – Start taking steps now to resolve whatever your fear is warning you. If your company is in a downward spiral and you fear job cutbacks, get ready now and start your job search. If your profession is going the way of buggy whips begin a process to identify your next career. What do you like to do and do well? What skills can you take from your current career and build into the next. Talk to people who are doing what you would like to do and identify and start filling your gaps.
3. Create a support system – You don’t need to do this on your own. Identify individuals you can talk to and share your fears. This can be a combination of friends as well as professional help. You are looking for people who can encourage you when you are down and celebrate with each success. These are individuals who can keep you on track and hold you accountable to yourself and your goals. We all need help in dealing with our reasonable as well as unreasonable fears.